Wariner spurred on by Carter's X-factor

The future of athletics is running in the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on Friday. A sport that has for so long lacked heroes has suddenly unearthed two new young stars who could give it a huge lift. Jeremy Wariner and Xavier Carter could be names that one day rank in stature alongside those of Michael Johnson and Carl Lewis.

The European circuit this summer had not so much been overshadowed by the football World Cup as totally eclipsed by it. However, within 48 hours of Italy's captain Fabio Cannavaro lifting the trophy in Berlin's Olympiastadion - a stadium that will be forever associated with Jesse Owens winning four gold medals in front of Adolf Hitler at the 1936 Olympics - it burst spectacularly into life.

It was appropriate that the man leading the charge was a 20-year-old Louisiana State University student called Xavier Carter. Last month, he had become the first man since Owens 70 years earlier to win four titles at one National Collegiate championships - 100metres, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m golds - and the first to win both 100m and 400m. Just as remarkably he won those two finals within 30 minutes and had to run nine races in 72 hours to equal Owens. The feat was even mentioned in the Louisiana House of Representatives and State Senate, both of whom congratulated Carter.

Carter was still unknown in Europe until 12 days ago when he propelled his 6ft 3in, 15st frame round the outside lane in Lausanne to win the 200metres in a time of 19.63sec - the second fastest ever, behind Johnson's 1996 world record of 19.32, a time experts predicted would stand for decades. Carter had picked up his first passport only two weeks earlier, having put his career as an American footballer on hold in order to concentrate on athletics.

His run in Lausanne slashed almost a third of a second off his previous best, a performance that left him as surprised as everybody else. 'I still don't know much about athletics,' Carter told stunned reporters afterwards. 'Until a few days ago my experience in this world was limited to school and university races. The most important thing for me was that I improved my time, but I know I can go faster because in the last few months I haven't done any specific training for the distance.'

Carter's decision to turn professional came only after a long series of deliberations with his family, because by giving up his college eligibility he was also turning his back on a potentially glittering NFL career. 'My decision to go pro is a bittersweet one,' he said. 'While I am excited with the prospects of my future endeavours as a professional athlete, the end of my athletic association with LSU also saddens me.'

He was ranked as the number-one high-school receiver in the country, coming out of Palm Bay High in Florida in 2003. Carter had caught five passes for 118 yards as a freshman in 2004, scoring two touchdowns. Last season, still only playing occasionally, he caught four passes for 86 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for another score. A few days before his amazing feat at the collegiate championships, LSU's wide receivers coach Todd Monken had told a local reporter: 'The sky's the limit for him. He's got the capability of scoring every time he touches it. He's one of those guys [whose] speed does translate into football.'

Johnson must be feeling the breeze on the back of his neck because, a few days later at the Golden League meeting in Rome, Wariner also began to suggest he could remove one of the most fabled marks from the record books when he lined up against Carter in the 400m. The X-Man, as Carter has been inevitably nicknamed, was left 10 metres adrift as Wariner ran 43.62, the quickest time seen since Johnson set the world record of 43.18 in Seville in 1999.

As with Carter, athletics was not Wariner's first love. His was America's other great passion. 'I really loved baseball,' he says. 'That's what I wanted to do with my life.'

Plans changed after Wariner did not get much playing time as a high-school freshman and switched his spring emphasis to track. A football coach at Arlington Lamar School made the suggestion because he was impressed by the defensive back/wide receiver's speed.

At 22, Wariner is hardly a veteran but what he has over Carter is experience, having already won the Olympic and world titles. Wariner has been taken under the wing of Johnson, who represents him and helps advise him as he trains under Clyde Hart, the coach at Baylor University in Texas who guided Johnson to so much success.

'What impresses me most about Jeremy is his ability to focus,' says Johnson. 'He works hard and is very determined, but I've seen young athletes with those characteristics before. What he has in addition to the above, and talent, is his ability to separate the possible end result of the race - good or bad - from his preparation for the race and his execution of the race.'

Johnson never had a serious rival, but we can only fantasise what Wariner and Carter might achieve if they are prepared to put themselves on the line against each other regularly. 'With us pushing each other for the rest of our careers, we might even be able to run into the 42s for the first time,' Wariner said.

For now Carter is concentrating on the 200m, the distance he will run at Crystal Palace. He still appears rather bemused by the attention he is attracting in Europe and has even claimed he could declare for the NFL draft after next year if the track does not work out. Then in the same sentence he said he hoped he will have time now for that other sport he says he enjoys as much as the other two - angling. It is more likely, though, that the only things he will be fishing for in the foreseeable future are gold medals and world records.